It’s fair to judge the Canadian Football League’s global outreach strategy, CFL 2.0 as it’s known, at least in part on its ability to pad the coffers.

And according to commissioner Randy Ambrosie, the league’s globetrotting point man on the file, the early financial returns will start coming in this season in the form of international broadcast agreements.

“There’s a discussion underway in Mexico right now that’s being collaborated on with our friends at the (Liga de Futbol Americano Profesional). I think it’s not unreasonable to expect we could have a broadcast deal in Mexico for this season,” Ambrosie said last weekend, after returning from meetings in London, Vienna and Helsinki with officials from football federations in four Nordic and three European countries.

“Based on the tone of the meetings, and I offer that as a caution, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect we’ll have a broadcast deal or two in Europe this year, at the start of the season,” he added.

“I think in the short term it’s not going to be life-altering money. But anything we get in that arena is going to be incremental, which is of course positive. It’s also going to expose our game to a new population of potential fans and get our league known in other parts of the world. In the short term, whatever money we’re able to secure will be great, but the real opportunity is to get fans outside of Canada and North America watching our game.”

Martin Soderberg of the Swedish American Football Federation, said he has no doubt there will be a broadcast deal in place in his country prior to the 2019 CFL season, but he would not offer details.

“Since there still is not a confirmed agreement it would be questionable of me to discuss such matters,” he said in an email.

More immediately, there will be perhaps a total of a dozen German, French and Nordic players at the CFL player combine in Toronto in late March. If necessary, a draft of global players will also be held. In January, the nine CFL teams drafted 27 Mexican university and professional players in Mexico City, following a player combine there.

The potential for the presence of international players on CFL rosters in 2019 plays into the league’s ability to sign those broadcast and digital streaming deals abroad.

“You get one or two of these young players on a roster and now you can attract a group of fans interested in following one of their countrymen,” said Ambrosie. “The other side of it is we’re also interested in getting Canadians who might not normally be interested in the CFL but might be interested in somebody who shares their ethnic background, to watch them play in our league.”

The CFL 2.0 strategy is bigger than the league itself, and Ambrosie said he is facilitating negotiations between Mexican and Canadian officials on an international clash of university teams.

“Mexico is quite interested in the possibility of some kind of university game, an exchange with Canada involving one of our university teams. It may even be our Vanier Cup champion,” said Ambrosie. “That could be quite a spectacle.”

Sources in Mexico suggest the game could happen as early as December, though they did not specify a location. Nor was it clear whether the Mexican team would be the champions of the public or private university conference.

Ambrosie said he could envision an annual meeting of champs, alternating between Mexican and Canadian sites. He mentioned B.C. Place Stadium as a potential venue. A domed stadium would obviously be necessary if the game were to take place in December, immediately after the Vanier Cup champs are crowned in November.

“This is a conversation that I’m happy to facilitate with (U Sports president) Graham Brown and the university leadership,” said Ambrosie. “I think it would be exciting to see our Vanier Cup champion. There are all kinds of possibilities.”

U Sports officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the likelihood that the Vanier Cup champs would participate in such a game this year.

“Part of this is not just what we want to do to grow the CFL game,” said Ambrosie, “it’s how we lean in and partner with U Sports as well and help to really drive the growth of our university game and junior game because they are a critical part of our long-term success.”

The Canadian Football League Players’ Association has directed its membership to cease participation in “any events or activities with the CFL office” until the two parties conclude negotiations on a collective bargaining agreement.

The directive, made public Monday on Twitter by CFLPA executive director Brian Ramsay, comes in response to CFL teams withholding all off-season signing and roster bonuses from players.

“The CFL is withholding signing bonuses for players until a new collective agreement can be reached, yet the players continue to be asked to accommodate CFL-initiated activities during the off-season that support league partners and drive revenue,” Ramsay tweeted.

In an interview with Postmedia, he said CFLPA members would continue to participate in community and charity initiatives.

“We want to be very, very clear. Our players are still going to be doing the community appearances. Our players want to support the communities that support them. What this is, the players will stop doing the content for the league and appearances on behalf of the league.

“The players are committed to seeking fair treatment and respect, and a decision like this today shows the unity of membership and that the players can send a powerful message when they act together.”

He said the withholding of off-season bonuses is a hardship for some players.

“A lot of our guys rely on that to provide for their families in the off-season and to continue training.”

The CFL did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The CFLPA move comes just weeks before the expected start of negotiations with the league aimed at hammering out a new collective bargaining agreement. But it also comes after the two sides have met regularly over the past year and a half, essentially since Randy Ambrosie was installed as commissioner.

“Our intent was always to try and not let it get to this,” said Ramsay. “But unfortunately that hadn’t been felt mutually, obviously, or we wouldn’t be here.”

He said he doesn’t feel this move will negatively affect CBA negotiations.

“The intent of that is to facilitate a respectful solution, one our membership can be proud of.”

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